Hello Friends & Family!

I'm starting this site so that I can share my cancer journey, updates, status and needs more easily with the loving people in my community and to avoid social media overwhelm. I feel so grateful to have so much support and I hope having access to this site will help me feel more connected to my loved ones and allow my loved ones to feel more connected to me as I'm struggling to keep up with regular communication right now. 

As of today I have the following updates to share:

• I am scheduled for surgery on April 7th to have one of my tumors (the larger one at T3- aka "grub") removed from my spinal canal at St. Joseph's in Denver. We ultimately decided on surgery after seeking multiple opinions because the tumor is taking up 1/3 of my spinal canal, and it will be safer long-term to remove it to avoid future complications.
• I am also going to visit with a renowned neurosurgeon at MD Anderson in Houston, TX on March 11th to receive final confirmation that the surgeon in Colorado I'm working with is capable of doing this complex procedure.
• I will move forward with 5 weeks of radiation to the T1-T3 field following my recovery from surgery.
• I am currently still working full-time and doing my best to stay to a normal routine. I am having pain in my upper back related to my tumor at T3 so I am trying to manage it the best I can until surgery with chiropractic and massage. 

In terms of non-medical updates, this waiting period has been extremely challenging for myself and Laura. We are both emotionally exhausted from all the appointments we've been going to for the last 2 months and trying to plan out the surgery, recovery and radiation treatments. It's also been extremely stressful trying to navigate the medical system and insurance and financial costs especially since Laura was laid off due to COVID.

We will be needing to create a "go fund me" in order to pay for the surgery & medical expenses as well as living expenses for the unpaid time off I will need for treatment and recovery. More information to come on that in a future update, but please keep us in mind if you would be willing to donate to our journey in the future. (**Also, FYI DO NOT hit the "donate to caringbridge" on my page as non of that money goes to me, but instead goes to the site).

As we are waiting to do the surgery and treatment we are under a significant amount of stress and we will accept any puppy play dates/puppy care and meals anyone would be willing to bring to us. If you want to help please text Laura at 713-725-4859. 

Thank you!
Ryann, Laura, Sugar Bear, Sadie, Skillet and Sokka <3